DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Friday evening saw
Dillon Ennis do what he had done twice before in 2013, deliver a clutch, two-out RBI base hit to give the Eagles a walk-off victory. Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, the seventh-ranked Eagles were in danger of dropping their third straight game to the visiting eighth-ranked Warriors of Lewis-Clark State. But the home team got three clutch hits, including Ennis' walk-off flair into right field to earn the one-run win. Embry-Riddle (24-7) will face Lewis-Clark State (24-6) in the series finale tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 23. Game time has been moved up to 2 p.m.
After the Warriors scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh against Eagle starter
Stetson Nelson, the Blue and Gold hopes looked dim as LCSC reliever David Murillo seemed dominant on the mound for the visitors, sending all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth back into the dugout.
However, when Sal Arena, the Warriors' closer, entered in the ninth, the cardiac Eagles came to life.
Adam Cellini doubled down the right field line with one out before moving to third on a
Jeff Lemon single up the middle. Lemon wisely took second when the throw from center came home and the Eagles had two runners in scoring position with just one out.
Kevin Lindheim was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up a force at any base, but
Kyle Chastain came through with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Cellini from third and moved Lemon's pinch runner,
Connor Williams just 90 feet away from the plate on the throw.
Mike Gragilla drew a two-out walk to once again load the bases and Ennis was called upon once again to pinch hit with the game on the line. The sophomore took an 0-2 Arena pitch into shallow right to score Williams and give the Eagles the walk-off win.
Stetson Nelson started on the bump for the Eagles and did everything he could to give his team a chance to win. Nelson scattered 10 hits while fanning five Warriors, but a wild pitch in the seventh allowed Bobby Joe Tannehill to score from third and gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead.
Ryan Sells, the LCSC starter, lasted just four innings before being relieved by Murillo. Sells and Murrillo both threw four innings, giving up five and three hits respectively with a strikeout apiece.
Liam Goodall plated the first Eagle run of the day in the fourth on a ground ball to third that was not fielded cleanly, scoring Chastain and knotting the score at 1-1. LCSC answered in the fifth with a lone run to retake a one-run lead, but the home team fired right back when Lindheim singled in Cellini's courtesy runner, Williams to bring the score to 2-2 before the Warriors took the 3-2 lead on the Nelson wild pitch in the seventh.
Eric Green (3-0) relieved Nelson in the top of the ninth with one out, striking out both LCSC hitters he faced to earn the victory. Arena (0-2) blew the save opportunity in 0.2 innings of work.
Cellini had a big day for the Blue and Gold, striking for three hits, including two doubles, while Lindheim finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and Ennis collected his fourth hit of the season for an RBI.
